Hope in search for Joseph Ahuriri
Crews continue to dig away at a spot near the Esk River mouth searching for Joseph Ahuriri and his white ute.
Ahuriri was last seen refuelling his white Toyota Hilux at the Waitomo petrol station in Bay View when Cyclone Gabrielle hit early on 14 February last year.
There has not been any sign of him since.
The area had become a popular swimming hole over the summer months, according to locals Hawke’s Bay App spoke to at the police cordon, but today a cool autumnal breeze kept moods sombre as the diggers continuously dug up shingle in their search to locate Ahuriri.
Late last year there was a GNS-led magnometer drone scan in the Eskdale area in relation to his disappearance.
Ahuriri - a father of eight - had been trying to head back to Gisborne from Napier, but his family previously said they feared his ute was washed away by the floodwaters.
Last year, police searched Whakatu, Clive, Esk Valley, the Napier-Taupō road, State Highway 5 and State Highway 2 for the 40-year-old.
Police divers and personnel from the Navy's dive and hydrographic unit, HMNZS Matataua, also searched the coastline near Esk River.
